1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to medical devices, systems, and methods. More particularly, the present invention relates to the revascularization and regeneration of damaged tissue using negative pressure.
Damaged and necrosed tissue, such as infarcted cardiac tissue, can cause major detriment to the function of vital organs. Efforts have been made to regenerate necrosed tissue by various methods to regain at least some of the tissue's original functionality. For example, some treatment methods include the introduction of stem cells into the necrosed tissue to stimulate tissue regeneration. Stem cells may be introduced into the necrosed tissue through the walls of the blood vessels existing in the tissue or by direct injection into the tissue. Other methods include treatment of the necrosed tissue using pharmaceuticals, such as polypeptides found to stimulate proliferation of cardiac cells.
Such treatment methods are, however, complex and costly. Moreover, these treatments may rely on the health of existing blood vessels in the necrosed tissue and may not stimulate the growth of new blood vessels into the damaged areas.
For these reasons, it would be desirable to provide improved systems and methods for revascularizing and regenerating damaged tissue using negative pressure on the tissue.
2. Description of the Background Art
Cardiac tissue regeneration using polypeptides is described in Larsen et al. U.S. Patent Application Publication 2005/0261189. Cardiac tissue regeneration with stem cells is described in Shake et al., “Mesenchymal Stem Cell Implantation in a Swine Myocardial Infarct Model: Engraftment and Functional Effects”. Ann Thorac Surg. 2002 June; 73(6): 1919-25, and Strauer et al., “Repair of Infarcted Myocardium by Autologous Intracoronary Mononuclear Bone Marrow Cell Transplantation in Humans”. Circulation. 2002; 106: 1913-1918. Use of vacuum devices in wound healing is described in Risk, Jr. et al. U.S. Pat. No. 6,755,807 and US2004/0243073. The application of negative pressure to the myocardium to enhance microvascular blood flow is described in Lindstedt et al. (2007) J. Cardiothorac. Surg. 3:2:53; (2008) BMC Cardiovasc. Disord. 22:8:14; and (2008) Cardiovasc. Med. 1:813-9.